Fence



(No Model.) I

P. J. WAGNER.

FENCE.

Patented Dec. 8

UNITED ST T S PATENT. OFFICE.

PHIL. J. WAGNER, OF EUDORA, KANSAS.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,121, dated December 8, 1885.

Application filed July 9, 1885. Serial No. 171,052. (No model.)

To all whom itv may concern:

Be it known that I, PHIL. J. WAGNER, of Eudora, in the county of Douglas and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in fences.

In the common form of rail-fences, in which the ends of wooden rails are let into the faces of the posts, moisture creepsin around the end of the rail, and the consequent decay renders the end of the rail weak and unfit for service long before the central portion begins to fail. In undertaking to remedy this trouble by the use of iron rails, the rails have been punched, notched, or mortised to receive the fastening which secures the picket thereto, or to receive the picket or pale itself, and the rails have thereby been rendered more costly, and hence have not come into very general use as a farmfence.

The object of my present invention is to provide a fence which shall be effective on account of its firmness and the obvious obstruction which it presents to the eye of the animal, and which shall be durable, have a neat appearance, and be inexpensive.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a section of the fence as it appears when set up for use, and Figs. 2, 3, 4., and 5 represent detached views of parts.

A A, &c., represent a series of posts set at a suitable distance apart.

B B, &c., represent one or more horizontal metallic rails secured to the posts at the desired distance apart. The rails B consist, preferably, of thin bars of metal crescentshaped in cr0ss-section. The rails B may be secured to the posts by being forced longitudinally through mortises formed therein, or may be secured in recesses formed in the face of the post, by means of battens, staples, or hooks.

0 represents the short pickets or palings.

Each picket or paling consists of an oblong wooden or metallic block of suflicient thickness to give it firmness. Its relative dimensions are, conveniently, about five inches long, three and one-half inches wide, and one-half inch thick. It may be made plain and cheap, for use in connection with a common fence, or it may be ornamented by cutting, carving, or painting,to form a handsome design fora fence, where it is desired to put up a neater and more expensive form.

The picket or paling O is provided at its central part with a pair of perforations, e, located in its major axis, and a distance apart equal to the width of the rail B. The paling is secured to the rail by passing the prongs of a staple, D, through the perforations c in the paling and twisting their ends together at the back of the rail, thereby drawing the paling snugly into contact with the rail and securing it in its position thereon.

To prevent the loop of the staple D from cutting into the paling, or perchance splitting it, I provide a short key, E, which is inserted beneath the loop of the staple before the latter is drawn home. The draft on the staple is thus taken 011 the key, and being crosswise of the grain will not work loose in contact therewith.

The palings G are located at such intervals on the rails as to form an obvious obstruction, more or less complete, as the case may require. One very effective form is that shown in Fig. 1, where the palings on the rails are in a direct line in the form of sectional pales. They may, however, be secured to the upper or any rail in alternate order, the rails being for this purpose placed a proper distance apart. The palings may also be provided with prongs or spikes, if found desirable.

The shape of the metal rail is such as to afford the maximum amount of strength with minimum amount of metal, and the manner of and means for attaching the palings to the rails are simple and effective.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and construction of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fence, the combination, with a metal rail secured to posts and having a curved face and a bearing-face constructed to prevent the paling from turning on the rail, of a paling secured against the bearing-face of the rail by a staple, the prongs of which are bent around the curved face of the rail, substantially as set forth.

2. In a fence, the combination, with a metallic rail secured to posts, of apaling located transversely to the rail, a staple extending through the paling and embracing the rail,

15 and a key inserted between the loop of the PHIL. J. WAGNER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. W. GRANT, M. SUMMERFIELD. 

